Yasunari Kawabata

A key work by the late Nobel Prize for Literature-winning author follows the story of Check, an adopted daughter of a kimono designer, who in postwar Kyoto becomes increasingly troubled by her discovery of the truth about her past life. Reprint.

The Old Capital

Jeremy Wang

"The poignancy of life with her father and mother, here in the old shop with its lattice doors and deep recesses, had permeated her heart."

this is classic kawabata, at (i think) his best. the lengthy descriptions of cedar leaves and cherry blossoms, so easily turned heavy and tedious in others' hands, somehow float along lightly in kawabata's. they're paired with his usual subtle paintings of characters' psyches, with symbolism bleeding out of every pairing: chieko and the violets/bell crickets, naeko and the cedars, hideo and obi. i always feel that i learn so much about traditional japanese culture from kawabata's writing. 

and the old capital is uniquely positioned to teach the reader about these things. kawabata has frozen in a moment the environment of tanizaki's makioka sisters, but rather than investigating the slowly decaying elite, he focuses on the merchant class, who, clambering to adapt to western trends and influences, find themselves grasping in nostalgia for their old traditions. and yet, having already changed, they find that when the old capital is once again filled with revived festivals and social norms, it is no longer what they desire. 

there's so much more to say, about chieko and naeko's respective romances, about the weavers' shops, and about chieko’s remarkable relationship with her parents. unfortuately, i'm tired LOL. but yes, i'm grateful for kawabata for this masterpiece!

"'In the mountain village sometimes a snow like this falls while we're working and before we know it the surfaces of the leaves turn white like flowers...and even the tips of the fine twigs of the dead winter trees turn white.'"

charisa

beautiful. a meditative window into postwar japan full of delicate details that convey an emotional undercurrent as well as frame the cultural context of gradual westernization. i loved kawabata’s careful unraveling of the idiosyncrasies of the relationships presented; each romance is subtle, each familial relationship shrouded with intentionally unanswered questions. i’m reminded a bit of soseki’s the gate, or some of kawabata’s own palm-of-the-hand stories.

his writing is selectively revelatory, descriptive enough for you to spin up each cherry blossom or fleeting expression in your head, but leave the scene wondering if there was something more to deduce. in general, there’s a lot of negative space in this story, perhaps in balance with the vivid natural and craft imagery? i’m coming away feeling wistful and maybe a little lonely.

捨子ではあったが京の商家の一人娘として美しく成長した千重子は、祇園祭の夜、自分に瓜二つの村娘苗子に出逢い、胸が騒いだ。二人はふたごだった。互いにひかれあい、懐かしみあいながらも永すぎた環境の違いから一緒には暮すことができない...。古都の深い面影、移ろう四季の景物の中に由緒ある史蹟のかずかずを織り込み、流麗な筆致で描く美しい長編小説。

The Old Capital

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